Conjugate reduction of alkynones by stoichiometric [(Ph(3)P)CuH](6) or catalytic [(Ph(3)P)CuH](6) and polymethyl-hydrosiloxane proceeds to cyclization by an aldol reaction with tethered ketones to generate [small beta]-hydroxyenones with good diastereoselectivity.

We report a highly diastereoselective synthesis of spiropyrazolones catalyzed by secondary amines. The reported Michael-Aldol cascade reaction affords the desired spiropyrazolones bearing four chiral centers as a single diastereomer in excellent yields.

A tunicaminyluracil derivative, which is a key component of the tunicamycin nucleoside antibiotics, was synthesized using a samarium diiodide (SmI2) mediated aldol reaction and intramolecular Pummerer reaction as the key steps. The alpha-phenylthio ketone 11, the precursor of the samarium enolate, was prepared from D-galactose. Treatment of 11 with SmI2 at -40 degrees C resulted in complete con...

An efficient enantioselective synthesis of beta,beta-dialkyl-gamma-substituted pantolactones has been achieved utilizing the cationic [Sc((S,S)-R-pybox)](Cl)(2)(+), R = Ph (9), t-Bu (10), complex in a catalyzed aldol reaction as the key step. The pantolactone derivatives are isolated in high enantiomeric excesses. [reaction: see text]

[reaction: see text]. The C(8)-C(18) ethyl ketone and C(19)-C(28) aldehyde aflastatin A fragments were synthesized and coupled using a diastereoselective anti aldol reaction. This adduct was successfully converted into the C(9)-C(27) polyol degradation product of (-)-aflastatin A to confirm the relative and absolute stereochemistry of this region of the natural product.

[reaction: see text] An enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-mucocin has been completed. A combination of asymmetric glycolate aldol additions and ring closing metathesis reactions were exploited to construct the C18-C34 and C7-C17 fragments. A selective cross-metathesis reaction was employed as the key step to couple two complex fragments.

Synthetic efforts toward the chlorinated aza-propellane alkaloid acutumine (1) are described. The key vicinal quaternary centers were constructed by a photochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of a furanyl-tetrahydroindolone. Dihydroxylation of the [2 + 2] product enabled a tandem retro-aldol/intramolecular ketalization reaction, which revealed the aza-propellane core of 1 while generating a...

A Mukaiyama aldol reaction can be catalyzed by bidentate halogen bond donors with very high efficiency. The halogenated catalysts were stable over multiple consecutive runs, which supports the halogen-bond-based mode of catalysis.